Rail brace



Mardi 2, 1954 G. ARNOLD ET AL v 2,670,903

RAIL BRACEI Filed Feb. 15,@1956 NVENTORS. 650,965 @wma @W44 I l q me/Veys' Patented Mar. 2, '1954 UNITED -sffmrs Schultz,y Garfield "Cleveland Frog &

Heights, Ohio, assignors to. Crossing Go.,A Cleveland Ohio, a corporation ofiOhio #Applicationflebruary 15, 1950;, Serial No. 144,226

(Llaims.v (.01. 23S-.292)

This invention. relatestda railbrace suchas is applied. to a railroad rail to resist any tendency ofthe rail to- .turn outwardly from. theV center of the track and to clamp the rail.` tor thetie plate, base plate or switch plate.l on which it rests; thus holding the rail against movements relativev to the base plate,I which baseplate, in turn', is secured' toa supporting' tie ask is well understood. in the art.

lRail' braces ofthe type contemplated'. by this invention are most frequently .applied against the stock rails. along side split switch points, but. their use is not' necessarily limited to such appl'ication'.

Further; braces of 'this type are frequently made adjustable to compensate.. for' variations in the' dimensions of.' the. rail, in the dimensions of he seat for the railand brace in the base. plate'itself and `also tor afford aA means of` retightening the assembly after Wear takes place.

Rail bracesY employed for'thispurpose generally have a portion which engages one of the sloping base anges of the rail and the 'Vertical web of the rail wherel it merges-With the base flanges and a portion which engagesthe webv beneath the rail head.

Heretoforerai-l braces llavebeenv secured' to the base plates in rail clamping andbracing y positionby hold-down or clamping'boltsA carried by andv extending vertically' through openings in the base plates and braces'. Y

In the use of the rail braces in track it' sometimes occurs that' the hold-down bolts become damaged or are sheared'oii, thus ne,cessitalting removing the raii brace andremounting the same with vnew Vhold-down bolts'. practice has been to have the. hold-down bolts carried by and extend through openings in. the baseY plates with theA heads. of' the bolts located between the base plates and the. tiesY to which thef'plates aresecured, it .has been necessary, in

order to remove the holdfdown bolts,r to nrst remove the base plates from .the-ties. This. is a disadvantage in `maintenance operations and consumes` substantial time and, labor. Furthermore, since the hold-down bo1ts-are mounted. inv and carried by the base 'platesl and extend. through openings therein, it.- hasbeen necessary to provide .thebase plates with openings. These: openthe basesplatestliave; beerrlocatedin'positions Awhich' coincidewitlr'thatrparteof the: base' plates `subject to thefgreatest-strainin use. locationffof.y tiles-openingszin. the'base plates has been.occasioned7 byr the tact. that customary' to provide the rail braces intermediate the side Inasmuch as the.

walls of Vthe braces withcomplementary holddown bolt receiving openings.

As. previously stated, rail braces heretofore used generally have had a` portion which engages onev of thesloping base. flanges. of the raiLand the vertical web of the rail where it merges with the base flanges and a. portion which engages the web. beneath the rail. head. Also/therail braces, asabove pointed. out, have. been secured to the base plates inrail clamping. andbracing position by vertical hold-down or. clamping, bolts extending through the base plates. andbraces` Diiiiculty has been experienced with therail braces in use, in that the braces, whenintrack, tend to work downwardly of theslopingibase flanges of the rails and away from.l the webs-of the rails until the braces doA not eiectively clamp, the rails to the base` plates or brace thel rails against tilting or moving away from the shoulders of the base. plates.

Various arrangements have been employed to overcome this. tendency of the rail braces to work; away from the rails as, for instance, it has .been usual to employ wedge membersV inserted between the rail' braces andiixedA abutments or back stops. secured to the base plates, the function ofi the Wedges being to force the braces towardt'l'ierail's..

An object of the present invention Vis to pro*- vide a rail, brace which isso: constructed*1 andilisj so secured to the base plate asy to overcomeallI of the disadvantages inherent in the rail vbraces heretofore used.

`Morespeciiically` an object ofthe present invention is to provide a rail brace and baseplate construction such that the hold-'down bolts'fcan be applied to the brace and base plateV withouth necessitating removingy the base plate froml the tie .and in such manner that when the braceL is-Y installed it tends at all times and under track' conditions towork toward the railrather than away from thev rai-l, thus insuring the maintef nance of' the necessary clamping andY vbracing relationship` between the braceand the rail.'

A further object is to provideV a railbracefan'd base-f plate constructionv such that'the brace canV be more readily initially installedf and after iinstallationl requires a minimum amount of mainltenance since the brace Vwill'v be maintainsdv'in position against the rail automatic-allyrbut should f it be necessary toremove. the brace from; the rail such removal canfbe-v accomplished expeditiously and :without: the necessityv of vremoving'..thebasa platey froml the, tie.l

Aiiurther object is. to providea, brace andi J base plate construction as referred to intiiespreceding objects and which is so constructed as to eliminate the necessity of employing tightening wedges.

A still further object is to provide a rail brace and base plate construction which includes iniproved and novel abutments or back stops that can .be easily mounted on the base plate and which may be turned during their mounting to bring them adjustably into tight engagement with the rail brace, after which they can be rigidly secured in position.

Further and additional objects and advantages not hereinbefore specified will become apparent hereinafter during the detailed description of an embodiment of the invention.

The invention contemplates providing a rail brace adjacent to its opposite longitudinal side edges and beyond the side walls of the brace with means for operatively connecting the hold-down bolts with the brace and to utilize with such means hold-down bolts of a character that can be operatively connected to the base plate after the base plate has been secured to a tie and which hold-down bolts exert, in addition to a vertical hold-down clamping force, a component force tending to move the brace toward the rail and causing that portion of the brace which engages with one of the sloping base flanges of the rail to move upwardly of said base flange, as distinguished from the prior rail brace constructions wherein there is a tendency for the rail brace to move downwardly of the sloping base flange of the rail and work loose from proper and effective rail clamping and bracing position.

Referring to the accompanying drawing illustrating an embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view through a rail mounted on a base .plate and clamped and braced thereagainst by a rail brace, the latter and the base plate being shown in side elevation.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view through the web of the rail shown in Fig. l, with the base plate, the base ilanges of the rail and the rail brace shown in plan, one of the hold-down bolts and its nut being omitted.

Fig. 3 is a partial elevational and partial sectional view of the rail, base plate and rail brace; the base plate being illustrated as secured to a tie and the sectional and elevational portions being taken along or looking from the irregular line 3-3 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional View taken substantially on line 4--4 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a detached side elevational view of the base plate, and

Fig. 6 is a detached elevational view of one of the abutments or back stops shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

The rail brace is employed with a railway rail indicated generally at l and comprising the usual base flanges provided on their upper sides with downwardly sloping surfaces |2. A vertically extending web |3 interconnects the rail base with the rail head |4. The rail is supported on a base plate which in turn i's secured to a tie I6 by spikes or other suitable means, not shown, as it is well known in the art and extending through suitable openings il formed in the base plate. The base plate l5 on its upper side is provided with a recess |5a in which the base of the rail is located, with the left hand side of the rail, as viewed in the drawing, engaging the base plate shoulder |517 at the left hand end ofv the recess.

The rail brace is for the purpose of clamping and holding the rail in proper position with respect to the base plate so that the left hand base flange of the rail firmly engages the base plate shoulder |55 and in order to prevent relative movements of the rail with respect to the base plate. This is the usual function of a rail brace as already explained,

The rail brace comprises a brace block indicated generally by the letter B and this block may be formed as a casting, forging or in any suitable manner as will be well understood in the art. The brace block B comprises a Solid unbroken upper surface portion i8 which extends from just under the rail head I4 downwardly and outwardly laterally from the rail to the base plate I5 at a point spaced to the right of the right hand end of the recess |5a in the :base plate as viewed in the drawings.

The block B further includes an intermediate downwardly extending rib i3d formed integral with the underside of the surface portion I8 and contacting the downwardly sloping surface i2 of the right hand rail base flange The block B has side walls I9 and 20 which extend downwardly and slightly divergently with respect to each other. The side walls merge into upwardly extending flange portions 2| and flange portions 22 which extend outwardly from the portions 2|. The flange portions 2| and 22 are integrally interconnected by curved flange portions 23- which engage the sloping upper surface l2 of the rail base flange The surface portion I8, the rib |8a, side walls I9 and 20 and flange portions 2| integrally merge with a portion 23 that engages the rail web I3 just below the rail head le and extends the full width of the rail brace B. The rail web I3 just below the head I4 is contacted by the portion 23 and the upper surface l2 of rail base flange is contacted at three spaced points by the flange portions 23 and 22 and by the rib |8a. There is clearance between the rail and rail brace except for the contact zones referred to above. The underside of Athe portion |8 and of the flange portions 22 at their outer ends remote from the rail bear upon the base plate |5 with a continuous bearing contact as indicated at 24.

The surface portion I8, side walls |S and and the flange portions 22 integrally merge into conical-like bosses 25 which have hollow downwardly divergent interiors. The upper surfaces 26 of the bosses 25 are parallel to each other and are inclined downwardly to the horizontal so as to be substantially parallel to the inclined surface |2 of the rail base flange The upper surfaces 2S of the bosses 25 are provided with hold-down bolt openings 21.

The flange portions 22 of the rail brace are provided at the location of the bosses 25 and on the opposite sides of the rail brace with depending lugs 28 which when the brace is installed lie along side 'of and engage the opposite longitudinal sides of the base plate l5 and prevent the brace from shifting sidewise should one of the hold-down bolts break. The lugs 28 are located so as to lie outwardly of and conceal portions of the hold-down bolts.

`The opposite longitudinal edges of the base plate |5 are provided with semi-cylindrical recesses 29 which communicate at their upper ends with vertical slots 3|) that underlie the bosses 25.v The hold-down bolts employed with the brace have semi-cylindrical heads 3| which can be engaged in the recesses 29 with a knucklelike engagement. The hold-down bolts further include straight-f. shank: .vportionsffaz extending from the heads4 '3| .through the s .aight-slots -30 inthe I,base plate, ,there bei-ng av substantialclearance betweentheshank portions 32 :andthewall of Vsaid. slot. The4` holddown"v bolts .further include outer shank V.portions 33 integral with-the portions 32- .and inclined-to ther-vertical so asto be substantially perpendicular to theadownwardly sloping surface VI2 ofthe rig-hthandbase ange -I I. The :shank portions 33A of the holdbosses 25 land areL provided withthreads saholddown nuts 34 can bescrewedzthereon. 'l'he-nuts 34 includei .closed headsv '35 and sleevesf3tl with annular flanges 31 intermediate sleeves. When the nuts.34 are screwed-downwardly on the rhold-down bolts the flangesf31 clampbetween them andv the upper surfaces 26 of .the bosses .25spring'washers 38.

-It will be seen thatl since the recesses129 and.

slots 3U are located in `the'longitudinal sidespf the base plate V`I5 and thebosses. 25 are on the flange portions .122 of Vtheblock B the heads 3| and stra-ight shank portions 32 of the hold-down bolts can be inserted respectively-in the recesses and slots of the base plate after it .is secured to the tie and before the `block is applied to'therail, since-the block` can `be installed vagainst the'irail without interference from the bolts. and yduri-ng which installation the straightshank portions 33.- of -the'bolts can be passed through the bosses 25. Whenever necessary -or desirable the holddown bolts can-beremovecl and replaced without disturbing :theconnection of the base plate I5 to thetie i6 since the-heads 3| and the: shank portions 32 of the bolts can be passed-into and removed-from the Vrecesses 29and slots 30 in the sides of the base plate.

- As already pointed out, Vwhen the hold-down nuts 34 are tightened during thezinstallation of the-brace the heavy spring washers 38 are forced by' thenut flanges 3Izinto engagementwiththe inclined upper end surfaces'26 of thebosses 25 and the nuts act through the washers to. producev aihold-downforce or pressure onthe bosses and therblock that provides a force component tending` to urge the block B toward the rail web I3 and to cause it to ride upwardly on the downwardly sloping surface I2 of. the rail. baseange II, in addition to lcausing itat 24 to firmly contact and press downwardly on the upper surface of the-base plate 15 .beyond the recess in the plate. The tendency of the rail brace when installed to ride upwardly on the base flange and toward therailweb at all timespvercomesthe -f tendency presentiin "the: heretofore s used rail bracesitouwork away from therail and whichlatter tendency requires the use of tightening wedgesV that` the present construction avoids. This advantage is accomplishedby havingthe hold-down bolts provided wththe angularly disposed or inclined shank portions 33 while the upper surfaces 26 of the bosses 25 are inclined sufficiently to be substantially parallel to the downwardly sloping surface I2 of the rail base ange II. Therefore when the nuts 34 are screwed down on the holddown bolts the heavy spring washers 38 are held against the surfaces 26 and produce force components acting on the block B to hold the block down rmly against vertical movement and also to constantly urge the block toward the rail and upwardly of the surface I2 of the rail base ange II.

The block B of the rail brace when once installed will always be held in proper engagement ithe hea-dsx and l() down bolts extend through the openings ZIin'the 'l square or polygonalheadr with thezraiif-,andzwill :exertjherconfthe requisitefforcesrorfholclingfthefbase of the railirmly against the #base platevIS- with thelefthandgend of the basetightly iagainstthe. left handend .15b oi" the recessiinxthefbase plate. as viewedfin the drawing.; In addition, they portion 223 of the block will alwaysbe-heldrti'ghtlyagainstthe web I3fof the railaandidue to the clearancefbetween4 said portion. :and: they undersideA of .the rail head there will. beno tendency for the block to 4produce a tilting or rocking-movement off the rail since only. ahorizontalfpressureis eiiected vby the portion 23; against the rail-*Web .and the-left hand base flange `I I. is` held nrmlyagainst the left hand endof therecessin thebaseplate.

.The rail. brace ...construction embodying. the present .invention I.effects the economy of: eliminatingthe .necessityfor using tightening wedges iniconjunction Vwiththe rail-braceY and which Wedges ordinarily areinterposed between the rail brace and xedabutments yformed on theibase plate. f

vAlthough abutments .or back stops .are not necessary in a construction-such as has been described, lit may beaclvantageous to .employ the same ,as .additional assurance that'the rail brace will be held in proper tight engagement with vthe rail, particularly should wear occur between any of the parts. 'A novel form of abutment or back stop is illustrated herein and which can be mounted in any one'of several 'different turned positions tov adjust itr tightly against the rail lrace. "The 'abutment is illustratedv as comprising a 33 from thel flat under surface 'of -which extends a cylindrical post tl that is disposed-eccentrically with respect to the center 'of the head 38. -`A tubular openingll extends through the head 39 and post di). The base plate 'I5 intermediateits longitudinal side edges is provided with openings therethrough `and which openings a-re sizedfso -as to rotatably interfittlie posts t@ ot theabutments or back when said posts are inserted into the-'openings with the heads 3S in'engagement with the upper side of the base. plate I5.

:Due to the oi' center or eccentric location of the post 4tl it willl be lseen that the back 4stops can be rotated to fselectivelyJ bring'one or the other braceftiius assuring aran'gefof adjustments such that the back stops will tightly engage `they rail brace fwhen: fthev 'latter `'isiL mounted in position againstthe rail..

. Vnsf.illustrated:the back stops are so constructed that theyhaye fourfidiierent positions of rotative adjustmentwhichfshould' be sufficient to provide the tight engagement referred'to andI also to take care: offslight .dimensionali inaccuracies.

' l/Jflienthe railibra'ce: has' been. installed against the rail and the back stops or abutments adjusted to effect the proper tight engagement with the rail brace the back stops or abutinents can then be secured in such position by suitable means as, for instance, the headed screws 42a passed downwardly through the tubular opening fit and into the tie I5 as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

From the foregoing description of an embodiment of the invention it will be clear that the present invention overcomes the disadvantages heretofore existing in rail braces and which disadvantages were fully set forth at the commencement of this specification.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described herein stops 7 it will be understood that the invention is susceptible of various modifications and adaptations within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, We claim:

l. In a rail brace construction for use with a rail of the type having a head, baseflanges provided with downwardly sloping upper surfaces and a web interconnecting the head and base flanges, and with a base plate secured to a tie and having opposite longitudinal side edges and upon which plate the base anges of the rail are supported; said construction comprising a block having a first part located adjacent to the rail web and a second part extending laterally from said rst part and overlying the base plate and having its outer end engaging the upper side of the base plate but being vertically spaced above said base plate intermediate said first part and the outer end of the second part, said parts including a portion engaging the rail web adjacent to but beneath the head thereof and a Vportion engaging the downwardly sloping upper surface of one of the rail base flanges, said laterallyextending second part having opposite longitudinal edges provided with bosses for the holddown bolts and when the block is installed against the rail located above the opposite longitudinal edges of the base plate and provided on their upper ends with downwardly inclined surfaces substantially parallel to the downwardly sloping upper surface of the said one rail base flange, and hold-down bolts mounted in said bosses and having threaded shank portions inclined to the vertical and substantially perpendicular to the said downwardly inclined surfaces on the upper ends of said bosses and mounting spring washers and hold down nuts which react against the said downwardly inclined surfaces, said bolts having their lower ends provided with head portions, and said base plate being provided at its opposite longitudinal edges with cavities in which said bolt heads interfit whereby said bolts are removably interconnected with the opposite longitudinal edges of the base plate when the latter is secured to a tie.

2. A rail brace and supporting means comprising a base plate which is secured to a tie to have its longitudinal side edges extend longitudinally of the tie and is provided on its upper side with a fixed abutment which is engaged by one of the two base flanges of a rail and which flanges are supported by the base plate and have downwardly sloping upper surfaces, the rail being of the type having a head and a web interconnecting the head and the base iianges, a block on said base plate and having integral parts, one of which lies adjacent to and extends vertically of the rail web and the other of which overlies said base plate and extends laterally from the rail web and is -provided at its outer end with a portion engaging said base plate, said parts having portions engaging the rail web adjacent to and below the rail head and the downwardly sloping upper surface of the other of the two base flanges of the rail, the part which overlies the base plate being provided on its opposite longitudinal edges with bosses overlying the longitudinal side edges of the base plate and through which bosses hold-down bolts extend, said bosses being provided on their upper ends with downwardly inclined surfaces substantially parallel to the downwardly sloping upper surface of said other base ange of the rail, hold-down bolts having heads at their lower ends, said base plate being provided at its opposite longitudinal side edges with cavities receiving said bolt heads whereby said bolts are connected to the opposite longitudinal side edges of said base plate, said bolts being provided with shank portions extending through said bosses and inclined to the vertical and substantially perpendicular to the downwardly inclined surfaces on the upper ends of said bosses, and nuts on said bolts which when screwed down thereon react against said downwardly inclined surfaces to produce hold-down forces on said block including a component urging said block toward said rail and upwardly of the downwardly sloping upper surface of said other base flange of the rail.

3. A rail brace and supporting means as dened in claim 2 and wherein the part of the block which overlies the base plate is provided on its opposite longitudinal edges with depending lugs engaging the opposite longitudinal side edges of the base plate.

4. A rail brace and supporting means as dened in claim 2 and wherein said part of said block which overlies said base plate includes side walls and outwardly thereof flanges which overlie the opposite longitudinal edges of said base plate, while said walls and flanges integrally merge into said bosses.

5. A rail brace and supporting means as defined in claim 2 and wherein said base plate is provided in its opposite longitudinal edges with recesses communicating with upwardly extending slots, while said hold-down bolts have heads detachably engaged in said recesses, and straight shank portions extending through said slots and integral with said inclined shank portions.

GEORGE ARNOLD. HARRY A. SCHULTZ.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Arnold et al. Oct. 3, 

